Stanislavski Vs Brecht

Though Brecht shows great engagement in the audience in another, perhaps as effective way. By making the theatre relatable in a real, logical sense. Through creating a “naturalistic illusion”( Brecht, 98), Brecht is capable of having a scene acted as though it was in reality, though there are few to no props/ images of reality to back him up. He is capable of doing this through creating scenes that address politics of the day. Placards are used as a devise to contextualise, rather than acting out a scene, this devise is used in his play “Mother

According to Brestoff (1995), even Stanislavsky refined and rewrote his theories up until his death. I have contended that not all systems will work for all actors in a given situation. Each of the “methods” might work for an actor at a given time. I think of them like tools, if I have to loosen a nut a socket, box or adjustable wrench will all get the work done, but one might work better in a given situation. Relating back to Stanislavsky, the grandfather, of modern acting techniques and his elements of

However, the experience of the spectators was different at this play. The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was written to produce an experience known as the alienation effect. The alienation effect, in the words of Brecht himself, is “to make the spectator adopt an attitude of inquiry and criticism in his approach to the incident” (Brecht, 136). In other words, Brecht aimed to “separate” the viewer from the plot and sensation of the play in order to allow them to truly understand and analyze the message. In Arturo Ui, Brecht instigated the alienation effect in multiple ways, the first of which was introducing the play. An announcer at the beginning makes it clear to the audience what they are about to see and what the ending will be. The use of an actor within the play teaching Arturo Ui how to act and the theatricality of the words was meant to further alienate the audience. The cast and crew of the SMTD also

How Brecht achieves producing this state of consciousness is more subtle and elegant than the previous technique of having actors walk out with blatant placards to remind the audience that they are watching a play. One of the marks of Brecht’s epic theater is his alienation effect, or “a representation which allows [the audience] to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes it seem unfamiliar” (Brecht 1948, 8).

Bertolt Brecht and Constantin Stanislavski are regarded as two of the most influential practitioners of the twentieth century, both with strong opinions and ideas about the function of the theatre and the actors within it. Both theories are considered useful and are used throughout the world as a means to achieve a good piece of theatre. The fact that both are so well respected is probably the only obvious similarity as their work is almost of complete opposites.

Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ deals with a number of humanitarian and ethical issues, set in the early 17th century, it follows the life of Mother Courage and her three children as they struggle to survive in the midst of the Thirty Years War. However, unlike many plays, the key to understanding Mother Courage, lies with the appreciation and acknowledgement of the context in which it was written. The first performance of Mother Courage took place in Berlin in 1941, through the use of the epic theatre practice of historification Brecht was able to set the action of the play in the past, to be able to draw parallels with contemporary events. However, other than criticising the futility of war, Brecht’s epic

Here we can perhaps see the way in which Brecht explains the aim of techniques such as use

Akilas Karazisis’ and Nick Chatzopoulos’ stage directions offer an illuminating insight in the two men’s psychology. One of the facts that struck my attention is that at the beginning of the play the action is evolving at the very front part of the stage, but later on the actors start to “go deeper”, resulting finally at the back wall. It seems like the stage reflects the level of communication Nietzsche and Breuer have; every time that a barrier regarding their relationship is broken, a curtain is rising. Another interesting fact regarding the direction of the performance is the way the female characters are presented: through puppets. This is actually weird if we take into account the major impact they have on Nietzsche and Breuer, but it helps the audience to focus on the male characters, which are actually more important to the plot.

As the house lights went dark and the music began onstage I was already hooked by the design and sounds of the set. The DePauw University theater department put on Bertolt Brecht’s play The Good Person of Szechwan on November 17th through the 20th directed by Gigi Jennewein and performed by the DePauw University community among other surrounding communities. When we attended on the 17th I was curious as to how the director and the actors in this performance would relate a play to recent times considering the play was written in 1941. The scenery was quite interesting and fascinating, and the moving piece used for different scenes was intriguing. The costumes looked appropriate to the performance, the original music from the saxophone and drum box was in sync with the performers, and the actors and actresses delivered a performance to with very little criticism could be something amazing. That said this is an interesting play that everyone should attend, as it gives a contemporary feel for this classic play.

“Brecht wanted to stimulate a reaction rather than encourage the kind of passive acquiescence found in the old bourgeois theatre.” By alienating spectators from the emotional content of a play he believed they were free to focus on dramatic action instead. To prevent emotional investment, Brecht’s characters would step outside their roles and break the fourth wall, and he would often cut scenes short, never allowing them to reach an emotional peak. His use of the blank screen over the traditional painted backdrop was representative of a universal setting, and any conventional theatrical elements were used ironically.

Stanislavski was a great believer in formal training for the actor. His interest in deeply analysing qualities of human behaviour was meant to give the actor an awareness of such human behaviour and how easily falsehoods, or aspects of behaviour that an audience can detect, are assumed by an untrained or inexperienced actor in performance. Stanislavski once insisted that all actions that a person must enact, such as walking, talking, even sitting on stage must be broken down and re-learned. In his book, translated into English as Building a Character, describes the correct way of walking on stage. Stanislavski developed his own unique system of training where actors would research the situation created by the script, break down the text according

He wanted to get rid of the 4th wall completely and include the actors and audience together, however, he didn't want the audience to think of this as an excuse to be at ease and relaxed. They had to be aware of any or all political implications and consequences that were made by the actors. When Brecht began to make his own style of theatre, going to the theatre wasn't an experience that was whole hearted and uplifting, the audience was made to suffer and left the theatre in the mind set of wanting to make a

Stanislavsky wrote three novels that discuss his acting method; An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, and Creating a Role. These books are from the perspective of a

The following essay will therefore discuss the impact of the 20th century on German-speaking literature, after which it will analyse the responses of Bertolt Brecht and Günter Eich to the historical and political events.

Brecht, Bertolt. “Mother Courage and Her Children.” Jacobus, Lee A., eds. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.